1. Field
Aspects relate to vehicle components, such as vehicle interior components, for example, instrument panels, center consoles, door trims, pillars and headliners, in which at least two layers are bonded using a hot melt adhesive. Aspects relate to vehicle components including a sewn covering, such as a decorative material, that is bonded to a substrate using a hot melt adhesive. Aspects also relate to method(s) for manufacturing a vehicle component and a device for application of the hot melt adhesive to one of the layers to be bonded.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Vehicle components, such as vehicle interior components, can involve the lamination of substrates with sewn decorative layers. A known method for laminating the layers of a component involves applying a dispersion adhesive to a side of each layer that are to be bonded together. The layers are bonded in a laminating mold using heated dies. The layers are removed from the laminating mold after reaching a desired temperature in the adhesive joint that is specific to the material combination and before cooling down completely. The layered composite is held in position during demolding by the adhesive.
Applying adhesive on a side of each layer to be bonded and the two processes associated with this method require a large amount of manufacturing space and energy. The layers also need to be bonded together within a specified time frame after applying the adhesive. In addition, the adhesive is conventionally applied using a spray process. When applying the adhesive to the so-called B-side of the decorative layer, soiling of the so-called A-side (i.e., the visible side of the finished vehicle component) may occur and result in a higher rate of material waste.
Other known methods for laminating the layers of a component involve the use of a hot melt adhesive. Examples of such methods are described in DE 10 2004 016 515 A1, DE 10 2005 015 340 A1 and DE 10 2009 043 498 A1. When using a hot melt adhesive, it is possible to omit the drying process associated with the use of a dispersion adhesive, such that the space requirement for storage can be reduced as compared to the dispersion adhesive method described above. It is also possible to apply a hot melt adhesive only unilaterally, i.e., to a side of only one of the layers to be bonded. This allows the other layer to be kept available without adhesive and without it being necessary to carry out quick processing. Thus, for example, the sewn decorative layers can be kept available while each of the substrates is provided with hot melt adhesive and laminated with a corresponding decorative sewn covering.
When using a hot melt adhesive, the layers are heated in a laminating mold up to the melting point of the hot melt adhesive, e.g. 170° C., to thereby activate the adhesive. A cooling phase then follows until the hot melt adhesive solidifies and the composite of the two layers stays in position. This requires that demolding from the laminating mold take place only after cooling. As a result of the necessary cooling, use of a hot melt adhesive substantially extends the laminating process and consumes considerably more energy as compared to the use of a dispersion adhesive.
Such known processes for manufacturing laminated vehicle components result in relatively long cycle times and high costs.
An aim of the present invention is to combine the respective advantages of the alternative methods described above. Against this background, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for the manufacture of a vehicle component, such as a vehicle interior component, which bonds two layers of the component using a hot melt adhesive while partially or completely dispensing with the cooling process so as to reduce the process cycle times. Another object of the present invention is to create a vehicle component, such as a vehicle interior component, including at least two layers that are permanently bonded using a hot melt adhesive and which can be manufactured faster and therefore less expensively. A further object of the present invention is to provide a device for applying a hot melt adhesive with which the method according to the invention can be implemented and with which the component according to the invention can be manufactured.